you about think minutes from now. >> have a good night, hope to see you back at 6:00. developing news tonight, bill o'reilly out at fox news. a stunning fall for a tv powerhouse for decades, brought down by new allegations of sexual harassment and millions in payouts. tonight the fallout and a renewed focus on behavior in the workplace. disgraced nfl star suicide, convicted killer aaron hernandez found hanging in his prisonell. his lawyer raising questions. a startling warning on iran, the trump administration escalating the war of words saying iran could follow the same path as north korea saving on health care. an increasingly popular way families are saving money tax free on medical, dental, even prescriptions. and girl scout pride, what makes this

troop's bond so powerful, when they are together, they are right at home. "nightly news" begins right now. good evening to our viewers in the west. bill o'reilly who has dominated cable news ratings for years is out tonight. fox news cutting ties with the fire brand commentator in the wake of a mounting trail of sexual harassment accusations and multimillion dollar payouts. the parent company of fox news announced late today the 67-year-old host of the "the o'reilly factor" will not be returning to the network. a stunning fall for one of network tv's major figures. a major conservative voice who even in the face of scandal and fleeing advertisers saw his audience remain loyal. but for a network whose workplace culture was already

under fire, it all proved to be too much. our cynthia mcfadden is working the story tonight and has the latest. >> caution, you are about to enter the no spin zone. >> reporter: the no spin zone is no more. bill o'reilly, the controversial face of fox news for 21 years was fired today by the network he helped put on the map. following in the footsteps of his former boss and mentor, roger ailes who was also pushed out after an investigation of sexual harassment claims. o'reilly was at the vatican for a long-planned holiday with his family. but even a longhand shake with pope francis didn't save him. 21st century fox today saying after a thorough and careful review of the allegations, the company and bill o'reilly have agreed that bill o'reilly will not be returning to the fox news channel. gabriel sherman has reported about fox news for the past several years. >> out question, this is a new era with bill

o'reilly. bill o'reilly was the public face out network. >> reporter: the path to o'reilly's oust began two years ago with a new york times investigation revealing five women including guests and employees of his show had been paid $13 million in settlements involving sexual harassment claims against him over the years. fox hired an outside law firm to investigate. reaction was swift. over 50 of the network's advertisers fled the show. the fox news headquarters were picketed and leaflets like these were handed out. but the decision was complicated. >> thanks for watching us tonight. i'm bill o'reilly. please remember -- >> his audience is incredibly loyal. during the sexual harassment scandal, his ratings have, in fact, gone up. >> reporter: inside fox news, staff was stunned to hear of o'reilly's firing as the network's bosses seemed to praise him as they pushed him out the door. by ratings standards bill o'reilly is one of the most accomplished tv personalities in the history of cable tv news. in fact, his success

by any measure is indisputable. >> there is an indisputable split. sources say the younger generations want to move fox news into a more modern era where these allegations aren't tolerated. >> reporter: late today bill o'reilly issued a statement saying he wishes only the best for fox while alleging he did nothing wrong. quote, it is tremendously disheartening that we part ways due to completely unfounded claims. lester? >> cynthia, thank you. the ousting of bill o'reilly from fox news is bringing a renewed focus to sexual harassment in the workplace. the problem is hardly new but have americans attitudes towards this hot-button issue changed over the years and decades? nbc's anne thompson has more for us tonight. >> reporter: 26 years after anita hill ignited a conversation on sexual harassment. >> i took that to mean we ought to have sex. >> reporter: the man

she accused, clearance thomas is the second longest serving justice on the u.s. supreme court. donald trump said this in 2005 during an ""access hollywood"" taping -- >> grab them by the [ bleep ]. >> reporter: is president. two weeks ago he defended his friend bill o'reilly against sexual harassment claims and bill o'reilly before vacation saw his ratings go up after the new accusations were revealed. what does this tell us about how america perceives the issue of sexual harassment in 2017? >> rich and famous men get away with a lot including sexual harassment. and we have to stop that. and i think we just did, in some respects. >> reporter: nancy erica smith representing gretchen in her suit against fox news roger ailes. >> women can have hope now that we are -- we've had enough. >> reporter: a red book reader survey finds in 40 years, little has changed. in 1976 92% of women said sexual harassment was a problem. now it's 99%. 92% said they received unwanted attention at work and today 80% say

they experienced sexual harassment on the job. and while more women now say reporting would make it stop. it's only 40% of them. while some may see today's events as another watershed moment for working women, sexual harassment persists. a workplace issue that doesn't seem to impact the ballot box or remote control. ann thompson, nbc news, new york. we turn new to the shocking discovery inside a prison cell in massachusetts. disgraced nfl star aaron hernandez a convicted killer, behind bars for life. his body found hanging from a bed sheet in what officials say is a suicide. hernandez had just been acquitted in a second shooting incident and was set to appeal his first case. as nbc's miguel almaguer reports, his lawyer is raising questions about his death. >> reporter: his body was discovered at 3:00 a.m. prison officials say aaron hernandez hanged himself with a bed sheet tied to a window

inside his maximum security cell. guards believe hernandez tried to jam the cell door from the inside. the former patriots' super star was serving a life sentence for murder. but his attorneys were appealing, eluding in a statement, this was no suicide. determined to find the truth, surrounding his untimely death. >> it's very hard for me to accept the fact he may have committed suicide. >> not guilty. >> reporter: just five days ago, hernandez was acquitted in a deadly 2012 boston shooting wiping back tears as the victim's family also wept. >> guilty of murder in the first degree. >> reporter: hernandez had already been convicted in the 2013 execution of friend odin lloyd. the 27-year-old seemed to have it all, a super bowl touchdown, a $40 million contract, a rising super star. now in the wake of his death, his attorneys will ask his 2015 conviction be vacated and his record wiped clean. >> if someone dies before their appeals are exhausted, the

case reverts to the original status. that is the only reason aaron hernandez will be viewed as an innocent man. >> reporter: for aaron hernandez, a meteoric rise to stardom. one only matched by his disturbing and shocking demise. tonight, officials here at the prison say no suicide note was found inside his cell. this happens on a day when his former teammates were at the white house to celebrate their super bowl victory. hernandez' family hopes that his nfl pension now goes to his daughter. lester? >> all right. miguel almaguer, thank you. the trump administration appears to be raising the stakes with regard to iran tonight. late today, secretary of state rex tillerson issued a stark warning that iran continues to represent a major global threat. and he characterized the iran nuclear deal struck during the last administration as a failure.

as president trump considers whether to break it. we get more from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: tonight secretary of state rex tillerson denouncing the obama administration's landmark nuclear deal and declaring that iran is a threat to the u.s. and the world. >> an unchecked iran has the potential to travel the same path as north korea. and take the world along with it. >> reporter: the nuclear deal a long-time target of president trump. >> the iran deal made by the previous administration is one of the worst deals i have ever witnessed and i've witnessed some beauties. >> reporter: one day after acknowledging that iran is compiling with the nuclear agreement, iran showed off its military might. tillerson accused iran of sponsoring terrorism in syria, iraq, lebanon and israel. testing and using weapons in defiance of the u.n. and arresting u.s. citizens. they sanctioned iran for the abuses but with five other world powers decided the nuclear deal was still

worth doing. >> to tear up the iran deal in my view would mean that we would be giving iran a license to go and get a nuclear weapon. >> reporter: tonight, tillerson rejected that. >> if you break out of that deal, won't that send a signal to north korea and other rogue nations, that the u.s. can't be trusted to keep its end of the bargain? >> we buy them off for a short period of time and someone has to deal with it later. we don't see that's a prudent way to deal with iran. >> reporter: but critics are warning tonight that the trump administration's harder line right now, a month before iran's presidential elections could lead to iran having an even more radical regime. lester? >> andrea mitchell at the state department, thanks, andrea. turning to the crisis unfolding on another international front, north korea. secretary of defense james mattis today offering further explanation after it was revealed that a u.s. aircraft carrier, which administration said was heading toward north korea was instead sailing in the opposite direction at the time.

>> reporter: tonight defense secretary jim mattis overseas in cleanup mode, down playing the confusion about the location of the aircraft carrier "uss carl vinson". >> we don't generally give out ship schedules in advance, but i didn't want to play a game either and say we were not changing a schedule, when in fact we had. >> reporter: confusion from public pronouncements that the ship was heading to north korea as a show of force against kim jong-un, when in fact it was heading towards australia, including comments from mattis. >> she's just on her way up there because that's where we thought it was most prudent to have her at this time. >> reporter: even president trump. >> we are sending an armada, very powerful. >> reporter: privately, pentagon officials saying they could have done a better job explaining to the white house when the "uss vinson" was heading to north korea. which was not until this week. the white house on defense tonight. >> the president said we have an armada

going towards the peninsula. that's a fact. it happened. it's happening, rather. >> reporter: the confusion unnerving for allies like south korea. >> our allies see a situation like this and they have to question our fundamental organizational competence, as well as our intent in determination. >> reporter: while the "vinson" is thousands of miles away, nbc news obtained access to a secret level naval log that shows a dozen ships and submarines currently operating within range of north korea. tonight pentagon officials saying in the future they will err on the side of caution and share less information publicly about ship locations repeating that old time war maxim, loose lips sink ships. lester? >> hans nichols tonight. thank you. the u.s. supreme court took on the most important in decades, separation of church and state. the question can states refuse to give money to churches even when it's for something that doesn't involve worship? we get details from our justice

correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: when trinity lutheran church in colombia, missouri, heard about a program for resurfacing play grounds using rubbers from scrapped tires, it applied for a state grant but the state said no because the constitution says no state money can be given in aid of any church. >> it made us feel like we're second-class citizens like the safety of our kids didn't matter as much as other kids. >> reporter: the state sued saying it was discriminating on religion. >> the church was not seeking favorable treatment, it was seeking equal treatment here. >> reporter: 38 other states have laws like missouri that don't interfere with the religious practices, they just choose not to subsidize them. >> if trinity lutheran wins this case, it will be a radical change from the way we've always treated religious institutions in this country. >> reporter: but a majority on the court seemed to side with the church,

including the newest justice neil gorsuch. alana said this is a clear burden on a constitutional right, not to be discriminated against. how to give the grant money is how to give the church police and fire protection or including religious students in communitywide vaccination programs. samuel alito asked about grants to help synagogues to protect themselves against terror attacks. ginsburg was one of the few siding with the state saying the constitutions framers didn't want tax money used to maintain church buildings or property. missouri's governor says the state will no longer automatically turn down requests for money from churches, even so the court appears headed for a decision reducing the wall between church and state. lester? >> pete williams at the supreme court, thank you. still ahead, saving big on health care, the growing trend many are turning to, it's tax free with no use it or lose it limits. one family saving over $2,000 a year. we'll tell you more about it. also, the big surprise that tennis super star serena williams served up to

her fans today.

we're back with a look at an increasingly popular way for many families to pay for health care. health saving accounts or hsas allow families to save dollars tax free and spend that money on whatever health care needs they may have. it could be a good choice for many americans but not everyone. here is nbc's tom

costello. >> reporter: for millions of americans, paying for everyday health care can take a toll on family budgets and stress levels. >> that's when she had strep throat. >> reporter: near raliegh, north carolina katie and darryl key say they found the solution, with a health savings account or hsa. >> we use the hsa card when we go to the doctor to pay for the visit checking out and it's typically going over to target to pick up the prescription. >> reporter: each month a family puts pretax dollars into an hsa account, up to $6,750 a year. employers may also contribute. families use that money for any medical, dental or pharmacy expense. hsa's are meant for people with high deductible insurance plans that come with a lower monthly premium. what are you telling your clients about hsa's? >> i'm telling my clients to consider it. let's plan for the higher deductible. >> reporter: in baltimore, financial planner lazetta likes hsas because they offer a way to save. >> if you're pretty

healthy and you don't have a lot of medical visits, then that's money you don't have to spend. you're just saving it. >> reporter: that's right. unlike flexible spending accounts, you don't have to spend all the money in your hsa each year. tax free savings. and once you're 65, you can use it for any expense. but there is a catch. not every employer offers an hsa and some families may not have the extra cash to fund the account. in north carolina, the key family says their hsa is saving them about $170 a month. >> $170 is a big deal to us to save every month. >> reporter: a savings calculation many american families may also want to consider. tom costello, nbc news, baltimore. we're back in a moment with a surprise visitor who crashed today's white house briefing.

tonight, former

president george h.w. bush remains in a hospital in houston as he recovers from a mild case of pneumonia. he won't be released today but said to be in high spirits with families, visitors and he's looking forward to going home. the moment of the day happened in the white house briefing room, but not because of an exchange between the press secretary and a reporter. take a look. >> what pans out in the negotiation. but i think there's an opportunity -- can i just -- >> need some help? >> i think i got this but thank you. >> you sure? >> maybe. >> that's patriot star rob gronkowski hanging around the white house before meeting with president trump. popping in to see if press secretary sean spicer could use a hand. prompting, as you heard, a big laugh there in the room and a moment instantly gone viral. fans of tennis super star serena williams got a surprise today. williams revealed she's pregnant with her first child posting a picture with the caption 20 weeks. she later took it down but her rep confirms

she's due in the fall this means williams was expecting when she won her 23rd grand slam title in january. the 35-year-old announced her engagement to the co-founder of reddit in december. when we come back, a troop of their own, how this tight knit group of girl scouts is making history in their community. ===take vo===

but her voice will still be heard. we )ll tell you about the back up plan. ===jess/take vo=== plus we investigated u-s veterans who were deported. now, a new hope for them

returning to the country they call home. ===next close=== the news is next. finally tonight, they are part of a sisterhood, nearly 3 million strong across the world. the girl scout troop you're about to meet also shares a special bond all its own. nbc's morgan radford explains. >> on my honor. >> on my honor. >> reporter: the members of troop 6,000 are especially proud to be girl scouts. >> so if there is any one thing you wanted me to know about your girl scout troop, what would it be? >> that we all share. >> reporter: that you all share? >> everybody is equal. >> we all act like we're real sisters. >> reporter: real sisters. there is something else, none of them have a home. >> i have to make it seem like everything is going to be okay because if i break down, they will break down and we'll just be a mess. >> reporter: single

mother giselle burgess started this troop as an oasis for her three daughters. the family of five, shares this tiny room in a homeless shelter. you-all share the same bed? >> yes. we don't have our home any more or our space. we're on top of each other. >> reporter: troop 6,000, new york's first for homeless girls is 22 strong. >> do you all live here together? >> yeah. >> reporter: offering them a chance to participate in a time honor tradition. >> girl scouts made this place better because i have something to look up to on fridays. i get to go downstairs and help the younger kids or do my project with my friends. they are my favorite days now. >> reporter: mom, you're wiping away tears. what do you think when you hear what your daughters are saying. >> i'm so proud of them. they ask me stuff, like how did i get so lucky? >> reporter: within this homeless shelter, these girls have found the shelter of sisterhood. >> our small voice can change the world. >> reporter: morgan radford, nbc news, new york.

that's going to do it for us on a wednesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. right now at 6: breakingn the east bay -- impacting thouands of bart commuters.. a right now at 6:00, breaking news in the east bay, impacting thousands of bart commuters. a four-hour standoff is over. threatening the jump, the man just came down to safety using the fire truck ladder. the news at 6:00 starts right now. good evening, thank you for joining us, i'm raj mathai. and i'm jessica aguirre. let's look outside, above the walnut creek bart station. for the past few hours we've seen trains rolling past the

station but not being able to stop. now the distraught man who was holding up those stations is no longer hanging on the wall of the bart station and trains are back in service. nbc bay area cheryl hurd has more on the rescue, do we know what his beef was? >> reporter: well, it got a little tense for a moment there, but the good news jessica is that the trains are back on track here at the walnut creek station for about the next four hours. the good news the man who caused all of this is now safe. the contra costa fire investigators did what they do best. somehow they were able to gain his confidence while putting up the ladder. he thought about jumping on the side of it. but he didn't. he was put into an ambulance and taken away. this is the end result of all of this. a huge commuter mess at the lafayette station. you can see from sky ranger. it took place for about